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regexgoregexp-replace

Replace "." with "_" Golang

been doing Go programming on Codewars as a hobby and stumbled upon following task:

The code provided is supposed to replace all the dots . in the specified String with dashes - But it's not working properly. Task: Fix the bug so we can all go home early.

Initial wrong code:

regexp.MustCompile(`.`).ReplaceAllString(str, "-")

Through brute force, i've made it work like this:

regexp.MustCompile(`[.]`).ReplaceAllString(str, "-")

The correct answer is apparently this:

regexp.MustCompile(`\.`).ReplaceAllString(str, "-")

Could someone please explain the logic behind my solution and the right one. Thank you in advance!

Solution

  • Your solution is correct too.

    In regex, the dot define a special metacharacter but inside a character class it's a regular dot.

    It is possible however to complain about the misleading impression of metacharacter use, so the escaped dot is more clear and easy to understand.